Are You Focused?

“What do you do?”
“We’re missionaries with YWAM, Youth With A Mission.”
“Oh, where do you go?”
“Well, we’ve lived in Belize and have gone to India twice with teams from our base. But most of our work is here training people to go out.”
“Oh…ok. That’s nice.”
Such is a typical conversation with any new aqaintance of mine. We usually go on to talk about the kids, or their lives, or missionaries they know some place in the world.
It’s interesting how, when we were preparing to move to Belize in 2011, some people asked us why we didn’t just minister to the needy people here in our own country. Now that we live here, people often ask us when we’re leaving and going to do missions “over there.” Both are valid questions. People everywhere need Jesus! Only, our family can’t be everywhere.
God has stationed us in Kansas City for this season and He knows what He’s doing. We know we’re to be obedient to Him. He continues to reveal Himself to us and gives us new opportunities to share Him with others. I love living wherever God has told me to. Doesn’t matter the place, as long as He is blessing me there.
But one thing I’ve noticed living back in the States again, is that falling into complacency is easy. When our lives are comfortable, relatively safe, and predictable, it’s hard to run the race fast with determination. Detours pop up and road blocks look different (like “comfort and ease” instead of “opposition and persecution”.)
This is something the western church needs to wake up to.
God doesn’t change His expectation or will for us as Christians. Wherever we live, we have a calling that fits in His Kingdom plan. (We also shouldn’t feel guilty about where He’s put us, either.)
Every single Christian races forward in life toward the finish line – where we meet Jesus. We run with perseverance, living disciplined, focused lives (Hebrews 12:1-3). Jesus gave us work to do. He told us to “Go make disciples of all nations teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:18-20) We will be judged according to if we have obeyed God or not (Matthew 7:21) Even though this life is short, it holds huge importance.
I find myself asking, “God, don’t let me get sidetracked. Don’t let me lose my passion for the lost in a place where so many are already saved or at least think they are. Don’t let me lose sight of how my life fits into Your master plan, wherever You have me living and whatever You have me doing. Keep me obedient to you always, in every area of my life.”
This life is about so much more than our comfort, our wealth, our activities, our skills, and even our families. We have a job to do. Everyone needs to know about Jesus and be discipled to follow Him. We each have our own unique role to play in this. What’s yours?